The Champ retires... End of an era...(A tribute to Michael Schumacher)

The Champ retires... End of an era...(A tribute to Michael Schumacher)

This is a discussion on The Champ retires... End of an era...(A tribute to Michael Schumacher) within Int'l Motorsport, part of the Motor-Sports category; Actually Hakkinen was nothing outstanding. He was fast, yes, but he was fast when the McLarens were fast and he ...

Actually Hakkinen was nothing outstanding. He was fast, yes, but he was fast when the McLarens were fast and he was nowhere when the McLarens weren't fast, unlike MS who won three races in a dog of a Ferrari in his first season with the scarlet team and also won a championship in a clearly under-powered Benetton Ford V8 vs a vastly superior Williams Renault V10.

MS also knows the best time to call it a day, unlike MH who languished at the back of the top 10 in his final season.

F1 might never be the same again. Despite all his idiosyncracies, Schumacher MADE F1 the rage of the 21st century that it is now. Undebatedly. C'mon now- would the sport have been as popular in his absence?

Schumacher might have retired, but his legend will egg on. For a long time to come. I'm sure that all people, pro OR anti Schumi, will point at future drivers and say...."hey, that's not how Schumi used to do it..."..

the mark of a true champ- Knowing when to quit- and schumi has timed it to perfection. He is quitting when he is on the top- whether he wins the championship or not is immaterial right now- of course if he wins it it would be the icing on the cake.

Imagine the scenario at the last race if Alonso clinches the championship- Schumi would still be the centre of attraction since that would be his last F1 race ever!

Since I started watching and avidly following F1 in the mid 90s, I can come up with only one name and that is Michael Schumacher. Other driver's in the era like Damon Hill, Jacques Villenuve, Mika Hakkinen, David Coultard and others, came and went, but only one name stood and kept winning races and a record seven championships.

Whenever quick lap-times are required before pitting Schumi delivers, slicing through backmarkers is a breeze and he seems to be a person who is one with his vehicle and knows the exact limits to which he can push the vehicle and himself. He can come first after qualifying last and I donít know of any driver who has ever done that. For more than 10 ten years he has been giving 100% in every race and this is no mean task.

Yes I know about all the schenenagans done by Schumi to win races, which are sometimes outright blatant, and I even believe he has some good connections at the top of the FIA. But hey, fortune favours the brave and the winners take it all. In his never-ending quest for winning Schumi sometimes tends to disregard the competition, but without doubt he is an excellent driver and for me the best driver since I have started following F1.

Hope Alonso, Kimi and Kubica (the new Polish driver for BMW - he is FAST) keep the flame of f1 alive and make us witness some great racing. F1 did get a bit boring and predictable when Ferrari dominated the first five years of this century and Schumi winning five consecutive constructor's championships. I don't know if anyone will be able to surpass Schumi's achievements in my lifetime.

Many are followers of Ferrari and there are equal number of Fans supporting Schumi . I have no idea what will happen to Ferrari Supporters after Schumi retires . One thing for sure , this egend has raised the bar for excellence to such a height that the term " great driver " may rarely be used , Roger fedrer had said once " THe feeling to be invincible is something to be expereinced , perhaps Tiger woods may understand " ....... I think that should have been MS .... he is really something who can really stir a race around . His determination to stay competetive in a race thats advantageous to young bloods will indeed be a source of inspiration for many . I dont think there ever will be another M.Shumacher . Hail to the mightiest Racer ever !!!!!!!

He puts more laps than most test drivers during practice sessions....I read in an interview that when NarainK went to the gym at 6:00am, Schumi was already in the workout.... Kind of proves why he is so damn good...he slogs it out

Mika Hakkinen had plenty of praise for his former arch-rival Michael Schumacher. The 1998 and 1999 champion, who beat Schumacher to the spoils in both years reflected on his battles with the Ferrari driver.

"It was fantastic," Hakkinen told Eurosport of his fights with Schumacher. "It wasn't about crashing, not complaining after the race in the press. It was pure racing. That's one of the biggest reasons why there is such a high respect from Michael to me, and vice versa."

"I think of Michael's career in terms of black and white, definitely," he added. "the result is incredible, but there are a lot of mixed feelings from a lot of other drivers about his behaviour on track. But the most important thing is Michael knows himself, inside, when he was racing what he was doing."

On Schumacher's retirement he added, "I'm sure it's going to be a big challenge in his life. It doesn't matter how prepared you are, it's a big change."

"I think of Michael's career in terms of black and white, definitely,"

Nice line!!! By the way ranjan i guess this line is gonna be oft repeated once the season gets over... After all whatever people say, he still is a champ and will always be... So the most diplomatic line for them will be this!

This is your chance to tell Michael Schumacher how he has touched your life throughout his Formula One career. His achievements with Ferrari Scuderia and Shell have made history.

Share your thoughts and comments on the following linkhttp://www.shell.com/home/WebformSer.../test_form.xml
with other Michael Schumacher fans. These will be updated daily and you can post as many as you like*. After one month, Shell will publish a special presentation book containing your feedback and will present it to Michael Schumacher as a thank you from all his fans at www.shell.com/ferrari.

Photographs from the presentation ceremony and Michaelís reaction will then be uploaded into this website.

schumi will always be remembered as the man who changed formula one. his awesome performance introduced changes in formula one, they had to change the rules to stop this maestro from painting the season red.
for me formula one has been a religion and schumacher, god!
formula one will miss him a lot and so will his fans.
i hope he stays with ferrari as a guide so that ferrari dont lose their way in formula one.
hats off to the rain master...and make mo mistake there will never be another schumacher in formula one!!!